Way of the Devil

The man in black turned to look at the duo. He chuckled lightly.

“If he’s not coming back, the two of you won’t be of any use to me anymore. If he comes back, I may consider letting the two of you go.”

“I don’t know what Lu Yue has done to provoke you, but this is Libra City, dear sir. If you do as you wish here and violate the rules, the Fourth Ward’s upper echelons and the main city won’t let you run away!” Tu Jin laced his words with threat.

“They won’t let me run away? Heh…” The man in black snorted. “This isn’t my first time coming to Libra City. The Fourth Ward isn’t even regarded as part of the main city.”

He had come all the way from the Yellow Springs Galaxy with the bloodline guide to lead him in his investigations. He had spent much time before he ended up here where the Tu Style art was based.

Besides him, the other Shadow Play Assassins had spread out to other locations. There were five of them, all of the Confusion Realm. They had gone to the other places as led by the bloodline guidance.

The other three assassins had already found the origin of the bloodline. Unfortunately, they were false leads. His was different. In the beginning, he did not think that the little Heavenly Devil would run to Libra City. He came here with the intention to go sightseeing and do some casual probing.

Little did he know that he would hit the jackpot.

“Pchht!”

Suddenly, a cluster of white threads erupted from Tu Jin’s body. The spirit-prompting threads eroded and pushed through the rope that bound him in an attempt to break them.

However, his efforts were futile. His spirit-prompting threads broke, while the rope remained intact.

The man in black did not even bother to glance at the commotion. He looked at his own palm. Three red spots of light swirled on it.

“They’re spinning faster now. Looks like the letter is working.” He could not help but smile.

“Looks like I’ll be the first one to accomplish my mission first… again.”

…..

At the periphery of Net Dragon Horn, among a dark green unbroken sea of trees, a blurry shadow flitted past the canopy at high speed.

The sun shone bright in the skies. The wind was warm and inviting. It was a scene of gentleness and comfort.

However, as the shadow shot past, leaves flew and branches broke wherever they went. Some small animals were even overturned and dropped to the ground as they were caught off-guard. After the initial shock, they scampered in all directions.

The shadow merely used 10 minutes to reach the Tu House from the edge of Net Dragon Horn. The shadow saw the blurry outline of the Tu Family’s manor.

The shadow suddenly plunged, and swiftly solidified into a strong-looking man.

The man wore green robes with a set of needles hanging on his waist. There were also semi-transparent silver crystal shoulder plates on his shoulders.

The tips of the shoulder plates extended outward for quite some length. They appeared slightly sharp.

‘Why isn’t there any movement? I’m already this close. Usually, there’d be sounds of conversations from inside. This should be the time when the patients come flocking in for treatment from the village and from out of town.’ This man was precisely Lu Sheng, who had just returned from the main city.

From his recently completed missions, he had received the payment and some rewards from the Zhao Family. It totaled 800,000 ice monies. His contribution points were now around 900,000.

Everything went surprisingly well. All he had to do now was wait for the right moment, and he would be able to proceed with his initial plans.

However, the implied anxiousness in the letter he received from Tu Jin made him worry. That was why he came out of the main city and decided to pay the Fourth Ward a visit.

“What’s the matter? Has everyone gone out?” Lu Sheng made his aura lighter as he inched closer to the slope on which the house was located.

As he got closer, there was still no sound coming from the courtyard. Not only were there no sounds from humans, he could not even sense any insects or mice.

A slight chill crept onto Lu Sheng’s heart. Then, his shadow dispersed behind him into nine separate units that silently shot into the shaded parts of the surroundings.

At the same time, he wielded a black cube which seemed to be some sort of machine. The center of the cube pulsed with faint yellow light.

He exerted some force on the cube. With a poof, the cube promptly shattered into powder and was scattered all over the ground.

After doing all that, Lu Sheng walked toward the Tu Family’s courtyard.

He walked up the door. He raised a hand to knock.

“Creak…”

The door to the courtyard swung inward on its own. The situation within could now be seen.

A big and tall figure clad in black robes stood in the center of the yard before him.

Behind the figure, Tu Jin, De Yun, and Chenchen were bound to wooden posts. Their heads sagged. They were still breathing, but they seemed to be unconscious already.

“I’ve been looking for you,” said the black-robed man softly as he looked at Lu Sheng.

“How should I address you?” Lu Sheng glanced at Tu Jin. He noticed that his teacher was unharmed, and there were no visible wounds. The other two were in similar conditions as well. They did not bear any visible wounds, yet they were somehow unconscious.

“You may call me Ju Ye,” said the black-robed man with a smile. “If you hadn’t asked, I would’ve forgotten my real name.”

“Well then, good sir, what business do you have with me? Why did you have to go to such lengths? Do you have to capture my teacher and fellow disciples and have them bound?” Lu Sheng replied with a calm expression.

“I suppose it’s a habit of mine to tie other people up,” Ju Ye said with a smile. “Alright, they can’t hear anything at the moment. Tell me, back on the Cloud Sky Pavilion, why did you suddenly choose to escape from the test corridor? You should’ve been at a crucial stage. If you had passed the test, you would’ve been able to become an official Green Branch Sect disciple. After all, all other arrangements have been made for you.”

Lu Sheng’s heart sank. He did not expect to hear about this incident again. He thought that he had taken care of everything, yet this happened.

“What’re you talking about? I don’t understand any of it. Back then, a peculiar little beast suddenly appeared before me and roared at me. Then, it started asking some strange questions. After I answered them, it suddenly conjured up a gray rift and ordered me to enter it. I thought it was part of the test as well, and I leapt into it.”

Lu Sheng’s expression was thick with helplessness and puzzlement.

“I didn’t expect that leap to take me here to Libra City. Since you’re here, you must know how to get here from the Cloud Sky Pavilion. What star-ranked Transport Formation do I have to take to get there? The amount needed to get back to where I came from is unimaginably high. I was broke before this, and I had to endure fixed tribulations at certain intervals. That’s why I had no choice but to try and make a living in the main city. I’ve finally achieved some success. I bought a house in the main city and am currently living there. However, whenever I have free time on my hands, I’ll start missing my hometown. Good sir, since you’re here, do you mind taking me back to the Yellow Springs Planet—”

Ju Ye cut him short impatiently. “Alright, enough with your nonsense. Tell me everything you’ve encountered in the test corridor, start from the very beginning.”

Lu Sheng hastily nodded.

“Yes, yes, yes. I will start from the beginning. I’ll have to start by telling you how I heard about the Green Branch Sect. Back then, I was a master of a small sect. The sect has been idle for some time, and I wanted to bring it up another level. However, due to my limited foresight and my Mysterious Method which was already at its peak and could not be improved further, I had no way of achieving what I had in mind. I felt helpless. Then, through some coincidence, I Arrived in a small world where I met Ghost Borneo World’s Heavenly Devil King, lord Zhuang Jiu. At that time, I didn’t know lord Zhuang Jiu’s identity. I thought he was just like me, an ordinary Army Raising…”

“You’re right. Lord Zhuang Jiu indeed liked his Arrivals. Although I’m not sure why he likes to do them, but it’s true that he frequently visits other small worlds.” Ju Ye nodded. “Go on.”

“Alright. Back then, my cultivation was at a crucial point. I have been cultivating in that world for a long time, and the identity of my host was unique. Hence, I unintentionally made contact with lord Zhuang Jiu.” Lu Sheng slowly made a face as if he was searching for a distant memory.

“I don’t know why, but after conversing with lord Zhuang Jiu for a few times, he started becoming friendlier to me. I’m sure you know, dear sir, that Heavenly Devils who Arrived in other worlds such as ourselves are usually fearful of our own kind. However, for some reason, lord Zhuang Jiu was exceptionally friendly toward me. Not only did he teach me about Divine Veins, he even wanted to give me a secret crystal as a gift. However, I turned down his offer while not knowing anything.”

Lu Sheng shook his head.

“At this point, I think you might not know this, dear sir, but I’m not a person from the Yellow Springs Planet. I was reincarnated there from another place.”

“Oh? Do you have any recollections of your previous life, then?” Ju Ye’s curiosity was immediately piqued.

“I don’t remember the other details.” Lu Sheng shook his head. “The only thing I remember is that the planet I was on was destroyed by a huge black blade which could cut everything. My brothers, parents, wife, and children were transformed into purple crystals under the black blade’s influence. At that time… at that time…” When Lu Sheng said this, his gaze dimmed slightly. A look of piercing pain flashed across his eyes.

“Hold on! Purple crystals? Black blade?” Ju Ye was suddenly shaken. He seemed to have related them with something. Shortly after, his gaze toward Lu Sheng was slightly different. “I think I know why lord Zhuang Jiu was giving you special treatment…”

Lu Sheng had a slight frown. “Could this be related to my previous life?”

Ju Ye nodded solemnly.

“Come to think of it, there are many things which you might not know about. However, the details aren’t something you can imagine… Continue with your story.”

Lu Sheng nodded before continuing, “After that, lord Zhuang Jiu gave me a special way to contact him. He told me to contact him even from another world. He told me that I can look for him if I needed any help…”

“That makes sense… No wonder, no wonder…” Ju Ye looked as if some sudden enlightenment had dawned on him.

“…About the Green Branch Sect’s entrance test, it was lord Zhuang Jiu who arranged it for me. I am not sure about the details.”

Ju Ye was silent for a while. Suddenly, he waved his arm. A beam of gray light suddenly shot out, and a screen of water suddenly formed before Lu Sheng.

“Look at this picture. Can you tell me who this is?” Gray starlight appeared before Ju Ye. The starlight erupted, and the spots of light scattered as they dropped into the water screen like raindrops.

The screen displayed a rich-looking lady with a cold expression. The rich woman’s face was covered in a black veil, and she wore a long dress embedded with purple jewels. Under the hem of her dress, a dozen pairs of bare feet could be seen.

Lu Sheng quickly glanced at Ju Ye’s face. Then, he scrutinized the screen.

“I… don’t quite remember…

“However… She looks genial… familiar… like a stern elder…”

At this, Ju Ye’s expression instantly changed.

He suddenly closed the screen. He stared at Lu Sheng as if he was seeing a ghost.

At this time, Lu Sheng’s higher-than-rank-1,000 psychological guidance art worked its magic.

Lu Sheng suddenly knew the next word he should say.

“Mum!” he called out.

Ju Ye shivered and staggered backward. He looked at Lu Sheng with a stunned expression. For a long while, he remained silent as he stared at Lu Sheng.

Ju Ye only exhaled slowly after a minute.

“That’s right… She’s lord Zhuang Jiu’s biological mother… Also, if I’m not mistaken, you might be the younger brother lord Zhuang Jiu frequently mentioned, incarnate!”